Hockey star Hardik Singh proposed for Khel Ratna; 24 recommended for Arjuna Awards

New Delhi, Dec 24 Two-time Olympic bronze medallist hockey player Hardik Singh has been recommended for the prestigeous Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, the highest award for sportsperons given the government, while athletes Tejaswin Shankar, Priyanka, chess grandmaster Vidit Santosh Gujarati and Divya Deshmukh, shooters Akhil Sheron and Mehuli Ghosh and women's badminton pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand were among those recommended for the Arjuna Award by the committee set up by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on Wednesday.

The committee, which met in New Delhi on Wednesday, has recommended the 27-year-old midfielder, Hardik, for the prestigious award for his contributions to the Indian hockey team in the last two years. Hardik has played a key role in the Indian team winning bronze medals in the Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games and was also a member of the Indian team that won gold in the Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023 and the Asia Cup 2025 in Rajgir.

Born in Khusropur in Punjab, Hardik, who has been a mainstay of the Indian men's hockey team, has so far earned 166 caps with the national team and is employed with the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). Six hockey players have been conferred the Khel Ratna so far - Dhanraj Pillay (1999-2000), Sardar Singh (2017), Rani Rampal (2020), PR Sreejesh (2021), Manpreet Singh (2021), and Harmanpreet Singh (2024).

Sources said his was the only name recommended by the panel. What was surprising for many was that no member of the Indian women's cricket team, which made history by winning their maiden Women's ODI World Cup title last month, was considered by the panel.

Interestingly, last year, Indian men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh received the Khel Ratna alongside two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker, chess prodigy Gukesh D, and para-athlete Praveen Kumar.

The selection committee also recommended 24 sportspersons for the Arjuna Awards, including Aarti Pal, who became the first yogasana athlete to be recommended for the honour.

Aarti is the reigning national and Asian champion in yogasana, which will feature as a demonstration sport at the Asian Games in Japan next year.

Rifle shooter Mehuli Ghosh, gymnast Pranati Nayak, and India's top-ranked women's badminton pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand are also among the recommendations. Polo star Padmanabh Singh, along with Sonam Malik (wrestling), Sutirtha Mukherjee (table tennis), Rudransh Khandelwal (para-shooting), Olympian rower Arvind Singh, and Ekta Bhyan (para-athletics), have also been recommended.

Notably, no cricketer features among this year’s recommendations. Mohammed Shami was the last cricketer to receive the Arjuna Award in 2023.

The committee did not suggest any names for the Dronacharya Award and the Dhyan Chand Lifetime Award.

The recommendations:

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award: Hardik Singh (hockey)

Arjuna Award: Tejaswin Shankar (athletics), Priyanka (athletics), Narender (boxing), Vidit Gujrathi (chess), Divya Deshmukh (chess), Dhanush Srikanth (deaf shooting), Pranati Nayak (gymnastics), Rajkumar Pal (hockey), Surjeet (kabaddi), Nirmala Bhati (kho kho), Rudransh Khandelwal (para-shooting), Ekta Bhyan (para-athletics), Padmanabh Singh (polo), Arvind Singh (rowing), Akhil Sheoran (shooting), Mehuli Ghosh (shooting), Sutirtha Mukherjee (table tennis), Sonam Malik (wrestling), Aarti Pal (yogasana), Treesa Jolly (badminton), Gayatri Gopichand (badminton), Lalremsiami (hockey), Mohammed Afsal (athletics), Pooja (kabaddi).

--IANS

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